Liverpool’s transfer targets that were hijacked by rival teams

The Icelandic midfielder was very impressive with Swansea under Brendan Rodgers and when Rodgers wanted to sign him for Liverpool, Sigurdsson was in a dilemma as he had an offer from Spurs to consider too. Eventually, he joined the London club.

Marcel Desailly:

The Frenchman is most popularly known for his time at Chelsea under Claudio Ranieri. In 1996, he was available for free when a number of Premier League clubs were after his signature. Despite of interest from Manchester United and Liverpool, Desailly joined Chelsea as he wanted a French school for his children, which turned out to be nearby to his place in London.

Gabriel Heinze:

Heinze was a very fine left back who had a very good spell with Manchester United. He wished to join Liverpool after leaving United but Sir Alex Ferguson wasn’t going to let that happen and instead Heinze joined Real Madrid.

Memphis Depay:

The young Dutch winger was very impressive with the PSV in the Eridivisie, scoring 22 goals in the 2014-15 season. Following which, he attracted attention from both Liverpool and Manchester United from the Premier League. But it was United whom he joined, as he felt like joining and it had to do nothing with the money.

Clint Dempsey:

Dempsey had a wonderful spell with Fulham but all didn’t go well when he joined Tottenham. His form took a dip and apparently Liverpool wanted to sign him and were accused of tapping him up. The move didn’t happen eventually as it turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the Reds.

Mohamed Salah:

It is true that Salah is finally at Liverpool on the second attempt but it would have been a different scenario had he joined Liverpool earlier when he went on to join Chelsea from Basel. Following Mata’s departure to Manchester United, Chelsea had the cash and decided to spend it on Salah who was close to joining Liverpool.

Alexis Sanchez:

Alexis Sanchez was unsettled at Barcelona following lack of regular appearances for the club. As the 2014 World Cup ended, Sanchez was offered the options to either join Liverpool or Arsenal. He decided to join the Gunners as he looked to play alongside MesutOzil and help the North London club.

Willian:

Willian has been one of Chelsea’s finest players over the past few years. He was very much wanted in 2013 by Premier League clubs including Spurs, Liverpool and Chelsea. While Spurs got very close, it was Chelsea who landed the Brazilian.

HenrikhMkhitaryan:

The Armenian was heavily linked with a move away during the 2014-15 season at Borussia Dortmund while JurgenKlopp was the club’s manager. Liverpool seem to have been the likely destination but somehow the move didn’t materialize. Mhkitaryan later on went to join Manchester United and now plays for Arsenal.

Michael Laudrup:

The former Swansea manager was a phenomenal player of his time. His creativity and playmaking skills were amazing and Liverpool were extremely close to sign him. A deal for three year was also agreed but the Merseyside club wanted to add an extra year in his contract which saw the move failed and Laudrup signing for Juventus.